Ever since infamous outlaw legends from Billy the Kid to Jesse James, I have been fascinated with the wild west and the stories that have been told. And I have always imagined and wondered how it would be to be in the wild west. And I can say that Cold Iron from Catch and release have brought that imagination and excitement to PlayStation VR.
Cold Iron is a puzzle shooter that will have you trying to draw your gun faster than your opponent. When you first start the game, you learn that the gun you carry in your hand is called Cold Iron that you learn is possessed. Yes possessed as in demonic possessed and then you start to understand what is going on. Your Father was gunned down and it’s up to you to find the answers to which you seek as you avenge his death.
You will only need one Move Controller to play. I will say this, if you like to sit while you play, you may want to stand. Sitting works, but depending on your chair, your arm or hand may hit the side of the chair. But this is a western and there will be shootouts, so to get the most out your gameplay, do yourself a favor and stand, look your opponent straight in the eyes and be the quickest draw in the west.
Before you start firing your Cold Iron, you must keep it low and to your side. If you fire too quickly or if your opponent shoots you too many times, you will receive a strike. Too many strikes and it’s game over. Once you hear that bell, then you will have to be the quickest as you have to shoot with precise aiming. Trust me, after a few times, you get the hang of it. The game is divided into rounds that are truly fun. After so said round, you get some of the ends of the round fun. I will say it is satisfying to shoot watermelons shooting out of barrels that cause fireworks.
When I first started Cold Iron and heard that voice, that western gunslinging narrative voiced by Dylan McKinnon that really added to the fun and just added to my dreams of incorporating VR with the wild west. So thank you Catch and Release…thank you. When you first your trusty piece, there is something so satisfying from the sound of it going off to just the look of it on PlayStation VR. I really enjoyed that western sound that just fits this puzzle shooter like it was made for this.
Visually Cold Iron sets out for what it needs to be. It doesn’t need high visual graphics. This is a western through and through and even when you look back and watch or read about how times were back then, we can see that not everything had that upscale look to it. I for one am glad that Catch and Release have made that same atmosphere with Cold Iron as it just adds that something special to it that I really enjoyed.
What I really liked were the puzzles. It is something refreshing. Some of the levels have these creatures that can appear at the left, center and right and you do not know which one it will land on. This type of surprising attack makes your need to be quick and precise that much more. So yes your peripheral vision will get fine-tuned here. Other types of puzzles have you shooting targets in order.
I also enjoyed seeing how fast I drew my gun and how many times I shot my opponents vs how many times they shot me shown on the display. The blue skulls represent if your opponent shot you and a target represents if you shot your opponent along with your accuracy. This made me want to keep trying harder to beat my accuracy and time. I would love to have seen some leaderboards just so we could see who in fact has the quickest draw of the wild west. But other than that, I really enjoyed my time with Cold Iron and the freshness it brings to PlayStation VR.
Cold Iron is out now for PlayStation VR and is also available on the Oculus Store and Steam. A review code was provided.
Also, check out the interview with Matthew Taylor of Catch and Release.
To learn more about Catch and Release, please visit their site and follow them on Twitter.
In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I have to back to the wild west and let them all know that I’ll make them famous.
Mr. PSVR, January 31, 2018, theplaystationbrahs.com
